Case Study

Proclamations for New Zealand and South Africa

I am studying the history of the monarchy in the Commonwealth nations. How can I find proclamations issued on and after May 29, 1953, concerning the change in Royal Styles for New Zealand and South Africa? I think they should be in the government gazettes for those countries.

We can start with the dates we already have for this search. Indexes, bound with the gazettes, can be used to check dates after May 29, 1953, for any other proclamations.

The Royal Titles Proclamation can be found in the New Zealand Gazette No.30, 29 May 1953, page 851. There are no later entries in the 1953 Gazette.

The Royal Style for New Zealand was "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith."

The Government Gazette for South Africa only includes weekly indexes so checking all issues for 1953 will be very time-consuming. Proclamation of the Royal Style and Titles Act can be found on page 1 of Gazette no. 5073, 29 May 1953.

From this date the Royal Style was "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of South Africa and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth".

Related links

Some gazette history

The London Gazette is Britain’s oldest continuously-published newspaper. It has recorded significant political events, the everyday working of government and to some extent the lives of ordinary everyday people since the plague of 1665.

Today it is a newspaper only in a very specialised sense, but its role in publishing official information is still a significant one.

The London Gazette includes names of Australians who were granted honours and awards in conflicts from the Boer War to the Vietnam War